01 Feb David J. Nutt Fund Looks For Community Feedback
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by mccfadmin
Members of the Lindsborg community, this is your opportunity to get involved in the decision-making process of grant allocation. The David J. Nutt Fund is hosting a survey to gather public opinion on what applications would best suit the mission of the fund. David J. Nutt Fund’s mission is to nurture the development and progress of the entire Lindsborg community.
Completion of the survey by the Lindsborg community is a crucial step in ensuring large allocations best suit the David J. Nutt Funds mission, and the community’s needs. It should be noted that the survey isn’t a vote and should be considered as an opportunity to provide feedback on the submissions. A Grant Committee, composed of a cross-section of Lindsborg residents, will make final decisions on grant applications.
A link to the survey will be posted and pinned to the McPherson County Community Foundations Facebook page or can be manually entered at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/nuttfund2024survey. The survey will be open until Feb. 29.
There are 7 organizations that are in consideration for grant allocation:
Steps to End Poverty of McPherson County
Coach for Site at Smoky Valley Virtual Charter School
$20,000
In January 2023, the Smoky Valley Virtual Charter School created a Getting Ahead class for high school students in collaboration with StepMc. There were five students from SVVCS and two students from SVHS, along with 5 total young children. We felt our students needed interventions and resources that were above and beyond what can be given in a traditional classroom and/or school. This grant would provide the resources to hire a coach that would continue with these students for a second year of the program as we would continue to recruit students for the first year. The coach will help connect with intentional partners, establish relationships with our participants, broker community resources, run program nights for the STEPMC site and create resources for the second class. This grant would also allow for funds for childcare, if needed, meals for students, and curriculum and professional development for the program.
This program addresses students who are living in poverty because of choices beyond their control. By completing at least two years of the program, the hope is that the cycle of poverty will be broken. These students will also be given access to people with resources available to assist them. Among the skills we hope to instill in the students are to be gainfully employed in a job that supports themselves, to live independently and able to pay bills, pursue higher education if desired, and to ultimately give back to the community that has helped them reach their goals.
Smoky Valley Arts & Folklife Center
SVAFC Accessibility Project
$180,455
The Smoky Valley Arts and Folklife Center (SVAFC) — a not for profit organization — strives to promote, support, and develop the arts at the local level through the Smoky Valley and provide cultural enrichment to the public.
Hutton Construction will construct an ADA compliant restroom and renovate the front entrance for better accessibility. SVAFC’s goal is to provide every individual the opportunity to benefit from our programs and exhibitions by removing barriers and obstacles that impede people with disabilities from participating. Neither the entrance nor the restroom are ADA compliant. The current restroom is 47” x 55” and the door is only 21” wide. Making it difficult to use by an able-bodied person. In the 1980s an exterior wall was installed in the front of the building closing off the original recessed entry. The wall will be removed leaving only one door to maneuver making the gallery easily accessible for people with disabilities and mobility issues.
City of Lindsborg Recreation Department
Lindsborg Golf Course Clubhouse
$175,000
The purpose of this project is to replace and upgrade the Lindsborg Golf Course clubhouse, landscaping, cart shed, and outdoor patio. These components are used by people from all over the area–residents, tourists, and businesses. The current clubhouse and amenities have not been replaced since they were new when the course opened in the 1990s, and the clubhouse itself was a log house kit, which was not intended to be used as a long-term or permanent building. Given the growth and overall usage the golf course has experienced, not only from Lindsborg residents, but people from all over McPherson County, the existing shelter and amenities are outdated and do not meet current demands, nor do they address the anticipated growth and needs.
The number one need is to replace aging and deteriorating current infrastructure. During the season, there are weekly programs where the number of participants has outgrown the space and resources the clubhouse can provide. Our tournament rentals have also seen a substantial increase over the past few years. A thriving clubhouse relies on active engagement and participation from both members and non-members. We have the participation piece (which is continually growing) but we are severely lacking a space to enhance our patrons’ overall golfing experience. Additionally, the condition of the clubhouse is deteriorating rapidly, and repairs are beginning to add up to be worth more than the building itself. Water damage to the walls/roof and resulting mold spores, especially, cause much concern. The clubhouse is also not ADA compliant.
Lindsborg Community Library
Library Construction & Remodeling
$183,720
This project provides funding to transform the Library main entrance into a united library space with access to the expansion at 109 S. Main. This will include remodeling the current used book store into a new heritage room for local collections and meeting space, creating interior access between 109 S. Main and 111 S. Main, and remodeling the public areas of the expansion into a new book store location, quiet reading area, and two private study rooms. This project also covers construction project staffing expense for both these components and the larger construction project. Without this phase of the project, the library expansion is prevented from using its full potential.
This project will provide significant progress towards completing our larger Library expansion and remodeling project, advancing the overall goal of improving and expanding library services to our community residents and visitors. During Community Conversations held in February 2023, it was determined that there is community support for this project.
Sprout House Learning Center
Older Child Playground
$30,000
Our mission to provide exceptional childcare to Lindsborg and surrounding communities helps in recruiting and retaining younger families in our area which benefits multiple areas of our community. Examples of this would include, schools, churches, local businesses, and current residents.
The project will allow us to better serve families of older students. These grant funds will be used to expand our playground facilities to allow age appropriate space for older children and the implementation of our raised bed vegetable gardens.
This project is a subset of the larger mission to create sustainable childcare in our community. According to Childcare Aware of Kansas there are still hundred’s of families in McPherson County that are looking for reliable childcare. This project is a next step to increase our capacity to serve more families in our area.
Bethany College
Anatomy Lab
$200,000
This project’s purpose is to renovate two spaces on the Bethany College campus to create a new cadaver dissection program and update space for additional teaching laboratories. This innovative dissection program would allow Bethany to introduce students to real-world anatomy and prepare them to be standout applicants for graduate programs in the medical and health sciences. Renovation of the proposed dissection room would include proper ventilation and the purchase of necessary supplies for dissection. The teaching laboratory renovation will include student workstations for group work, areas for small animal dissection, and the purchase of anatomical models for student learning and reference. The renovation of these rooms and addition of a dissection lab will benefit all Bethany pre-health students and will allow for community outreach to local high schools, providing educational experiences not often found in a rural setting.
Bethany’s dissection program will serve several purposes for the college and surrounding community. First, access to this type of educational experience is rare for colleges of Bethany’s size and demographics. This will give our students a competitive edge when applying for future jobs and/or education in health-related fields. Secondly, the experiential education this program provides will draw science majors to Bethany, inviting more driven students into the Smoky Valley. Lastly, Bethany’s cadaver dissection program will be conducted within the ethical environment of Bethany College, providing students with opportunities to reflect on the weighty moral responsibilities that attend caring for human life. Compassionate medical providers who are morally and philosophically astute are a constant societal need. This program will position Bethany College to continue its long tradition of providing students with an undergraduate education that prepares them to become just such providers.
Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum
1904 World’s Fair Swedish Pavilion structural stabilization (Phase 1)
$180,700
This project will fund Phase 1 of critical repair and stabilization of the 1904 World’s Fair Swedish Pavilion’s physical structure on the campus of Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum. An October 2023 engineering assessment found that the structure is leaning by up to 2 degrees – severe “racking” visible even to untrained observers – that if unaddressed threatens catastrophic collapse of the historic treasure. This preservation project will start to ensure the future of a priceless building on the National Register of Historic Places, which has long served as a central stage of Lindsborg community and identity – particularly its deep- rooted Swedish history. From the standpoint of historical value, it is the only international building on U.S. soil by globally acclaimed Swedish architect Ferdinand Boberg, and one of only two remaining international pavilions from the St. Louis Fair – one of the most recognized touchstones of global culture in the 20th Century.
This project will ensure that the Swedish Pavilion building will continue to be accessible to and enjoyed by members of the local community and visitors to the area. By preserving a unique tourist attraction and heritage building, this project will promote the economic development of the museum and the greater community.
